Many medical interventions rely on the delivery to a target location of energy, such as electrical energy, inside the body of a patient. For example, an occlusion in a blood vessel may be vaporized, at least partially, by delivering a suitable electrical current to the occlusion.
There currently exist magnetically guided guide wires, which are typically relatively long and relatively thin wires at the end of which a magnet is located. The guide wire is typically used in conjunction with a catheter that is slid over the guide wire after the wire has been advanced through a desired path. In use, the guide wire is protruding over a relatively small distance in front of the catheter when there is a need to either steer the catheter at a junction, or guide the catheter through a relatively tortuous path. Then, a magnetic field may be applied to guide the guide wire through a predetermined path and thereafter slide the catheter over the guide wire. However, such guide wires are typically not well suited to the targeted application of electrical energy as, for example, they are not electrically insulated.
Against this background, there exists a need in the industry to provide novel methods and apparatuses for delivering energy using a magnetically guidable device. An object of the present invention is therefore to provide such a method and an apparatus.